It’s been two years since City Rain‘s Songs from a High School Dance LP, and the band’s transition from electro-pop dancefloor-project to ambitious anthemic rock. That evolution continues on the new EP, Take Me To the Void, out this Friday.

Programmer / vocalist Ben Runyan recorded the album with Scott Cumpstone on guitar and Ross Robey on drums, but has scaled back down to a lone wolf performer that we’ll see in action at MilkBoy on June 17th.

With the EP dropping on Friday, Runyan was kind enough to let us premiere it for y’all, and shared some thoughts about the inspiration behind it. Continue reading →

City Rain is closing out 2014 with the premiere of a new video for their song “Hearts.” The track is taken from this year’s Songs For a High School Dance LP, which also featured break-out song “The Optimist.” Shot in both LA where director Kofa lives and here in Philadelphia at the Port Richmond coal pier, the clip has City Rain’s signature balance of real life anxiety and overwhelming optimism.

Created to explore the music, past and present, and the storied legacy of the City of Brotherly Love, the 4th Annual Philly Sings Philly event returns to The Fire during the month of November. Across four Tuesdays, local musicians will pay homage to their idols, adding a personal touch to their favorite songs by Philly-born artists. Each week is curated by a different local music organization. Continue reading →

Spanish dance group Delorean plays a free show at Morgan’s Pier tonight. Last year, the group released its second album, Apar, produced in the band’s private studio in El Poblenou. The title is a Basque term that means to froth or foam. The sounds in the album, a very minimum instrumentation and vocals, has a feeling of being destroyed yet remaining strong. The band released a playlist of some of the fantastic remixes they’ve done this year, as well as a warped video for “Unhold” featuring Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek. They will be joined by Philly’s City Rain, who were featured on the Key’s Unlocked Series. Similar to Delorean, City Rain recorded its newest album High School Dance near a family shore house. Catch both bands for their free show at Morgan’s Pier. Get more details at the XPN Concert Calendar. Continue reading →

Oakland quartet Trails and Ways are causing quite a stir. Two years ago, the band released their debut EP Trilingual, which had multilingual lyrics, political themes and an eclectic blend of 90s shoegaze and modern beats. For example, “Border Crosser” is in support of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. When they’re not making great, politically active music, the band also does dope covers, like their trilingual take on Frank Ocean’s “Lost”. Watch their video for “Tereza” below. The band will make its Philly debut tonight with another talented band, PHOX. Get more details at the XPN Concert Calendar.

Philly based jazz ensemble Fresh Cut Orchestra formed in fall of 2012 when the Painted Bride Arts Center commissioned a performance by trumpeter Josh Lawrence, bassist Jason Fraticelli and drummer Anwar Marshall. The orchestra recently released their debut album, From the Vine, while the core trio hosts a monthly concert series at the Painted Bride, featuring other guest artists and educational workshops. In December 2013, the orchestra was awarded the Kimmel Jazz Residency, through which they played a work-in-progress performance and hosted two educational workshops at the SEI Innovation Studio. They will play a finished performance on June 21st. Join FOC at Underground Arts along with the Dan Monaghan Quartet and Ensemble Novo for a night of jazz innovation; get tickets and more information at the XPN Concert Calendar.

Recently CW Henry Elementary School in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia was broken into and computers, iPads and music room equipment were stolen.

As the school begins the recovery and replacement process, parents and local musicians are stepping up to “pay it forward” on Saturday, May 24th from 4pm – 6pm at World Cafe Live upstairs.

I spoke with Paula Hanson, a parent of CW Henry first-grader Phoebe and an audio engineer who has worked with Rob Zombie, Stevie Nicks, kd lang and Korn. Along with her husband Ringo, Paula is trying to raise funds to buy new equipment for the school.

Helen Leicht: I’m sorry to hear that there was a burglary at C W Henry Elementary school.

Paula Hanson: Yes, we had several iMacs the kids use, as well as a teacher’s MacBook and the flat screen TV in the music room the kids use to watch performances and whatnot on. Probably the most crushing was the theft of the iPads the autistic kids use as part of their immersion into the classroom. They really loved those and they were a great help.

HL: You have organized a fund raiser concert for CW Henry Elementary School. Can you tell me about the school and what grades and children have been affected by this theft?

PH: CW Henry is a neighborhood public K-8 in West Mt Airy. It’s a wonderful neighborhood. There’s a bit of a misconception that because we’re located in an affluent hood that we do better than other Philly schools. However we’re subject to the same budget as everyone else, and nearly half our kids come in from other parts of Philly. The parents and teachers work really hard to supplement all the budget woes.

Some of the gear that was stolen was donated in the first place. The whole school is taught music by Ms Paulino Trisdorfer, who runs an astoundingly good music program, so the theft of her computers affects everyone. The two first grade classrooms had everything electronic taken, so we had to drag up an eMac from the basement so they had at least one for their centers. And the iPads that the two classes use, but especially the four kids in each room in our Autistic Support Program were really left hanging.

Sister rock trio HAIM (a former XPN artist to watch) are putting a big year behind them. After their debut album, Days Are Gone, was released this past September, they’ve gotten a deal with Target to have their song “Forever” appear in the store’s commercials, and have planned out their first nationwide and European tour. Tonight, they’ll stop by Tower Theater. The show will start at 8 p.m. and the $32 tickets can be purchased here.

Folkadelphia welcomed instrumental guitarist Marisa Anderson in to the studio for this week’s live session. The Oregan based musician released two divergent records in 2013; get a sampling of her music with this session, available as a free download below.

Power Animal, a local project built around Keith Hampson, has returned with a new single called “Unkept.” This new experimental / electronic material is focused on Hampson’s experience with mental illness, which he discussed in an accompanying essay for Impose Magazine. Stream and download “Unkept” below

When City Rain played SXSW this year, frontman Ben Runyan made the trip not by car, bus or plane, but on a two-and-a-half day rail trek. For the final installment of the band’s Unlocked spotlight, we share his experience in the form of an essay written on the ride home.

Life is a tremendously meticulous and fragile gift. It involves risk. It involves bravado…..brashness……insanity. To make the “right” decisions for yourself the only way to be vindicated is to dive in. I remember leaving the train station from NYC with a 55 hr train ride Into the unknown wondering if I was in over my head. Hell, everyone had told me I was crazy for doing this. Take a plane they said….. What was I thinking. Shall I return to the “safety of home”? Or shall I press on Into the night to a place I’ve never been — with people I’ve never met — around confines I’ve never Iived within…… I’d become a bit predictable up to this point and wanted to try something big. But this trip —- well this trip turned everything on it’s head in ways I could never imagine.

America is best seen by train. Not because its not being done. Not because some hipster steampunk that thinks we should return to the days of locomotive and horse (could be cool) and not because I’m afraid of flying (I am). I’ts best seen by train because of what you SEE —- which is to say there’s a big America out there… It’s a shock to most to know that you can travel across the entire country by AMTRAK. NYC to LA. PHL to CHI. CHI TO AUS. Our rail lines zig zag across this great country as directly and wildly as plane routes, albeit longer and shared by freight trains. Yes years ago our country failed to have foresight into the needs of the American rail system or high speed rail that our Asian and Europeans brothers utilize. A high speed rail system analogous to the ones europeans have could bring us from NYC to LA in 10 hours. But who could blame them; the car was the future as early as the 1910’s. Cars are the future they said.

My trip started out about 2 blocks away from my house in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Continue reading →

About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH

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About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH